


The Beast Within 10/?

by iantosgal (orphan_account)



Series: The Beast Within [10]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Timelines, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-13
Updated: 2013-03-13
Packaged: 2017-12-05 05:39:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/719490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/iantosgal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack is back from his time with the Doctor and his team are keeping something from him, but what? Set after KKBB.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beast Within 10/?

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a story I posted a couple of years back on my LJ. My Torchwood muse buggered off and the story died. A couple of days ago, I found it, re-read it and the muse was reawakened!! So I've written a couple more chapters and just wanted to repost this over here on my new profile! So sorry for the spam of chapters, if anyone remembers it from LJ then I'm sorry for the long wait and for anyone that reads, I hope you enjoy it!!!

They arrived at the crash site and the smell hit Ianto immediately. He tried hard not to gag and covered his mouth with a closed fist as he composed himself.

Ianto coughed as Jack pulled back a large plastic sheet, revealing a large slab of meat on the floor. The stench worsened and Ianto forced back the bile that was threatening vomit.

“Oh, it stinks!” Owen exclaimed.

“You should try being me,” Ianto muttered.

“Sorry mate, you alright?” Owen asked quickly, his concern evident on his face.

Ianto smiled and nodded.

“I’m fine. For now.”

Ianto kept his distance as the others looked into the back of the truck, pulling out his PDA and starting a search.

“Did you find out where it came from?” Jack’s voice asked.

“No, but it’s a Harwood’s lorry, so…”

“Oh, um, that’s Rhy’s firm,” Gwen cut in.

The two men looked up at her and then shared a look. This didn’t look good.

*~*~*~*

As expected it was awkward. Owen deduced that it was indeed alien meat and after pussy footing around it for a while they finally got down to the awkward questions.

Toshiko brought up the Harwood’s website and the jingle echoed through the Hub.

“Catchy.” Ianto said with a smile.

“Do you think the haulage firm might be in on it, too?” Tosh asked and she cast Gwen a wary glance.

“Rhys? No! He doesn't know what goes in the vans, he just hires them out,” Gwen was immediately on the defensive.

“Driver must have seen it loaded,” Ianto reasoned.

“That doesn't implicate Rhys. He's the most honest man I know.”

“Have you got his direct line?” Tosh asked, remaining professional.

Gwen looked upset as she reached for her phone.

Ianto listened to the phone conversation with interest, jotting down a note and passing it to Jack. Jack read it over and nodded slightly before passing it to Tosh.

“What time did the driver leave base?” Tosh asked after reading the note.

“Uh, signed out at 10 to 1:00. Can I ask, what's this about?”

“I can't release that information, sir. Thanks for your cooperation.” Tosh hung up the phone smartly.

Ianto was already at his work station. He easily hacked into the CCTV system and went to the time slot he needed.

He played the tapes on fast forward, his quick eyes seeing every detail, every number plate.

Jack watched fascinated as Ianto’s eyes darted across the screen.

“Got him!” he exclaimed suddenly keeping the tape running. “There he is, coming back forty minutes later.” Ianto reached up and stopped the tape. “Let's say it takes 20 minutes to load. We are talking a 10-mile radius.”

Jack nodded his head in agreement and then headed down to the Autopsy room after a shout from Owen.

Ianto sat there as the others wandered over to the Autopsy room. He was fine where he was, with a bit of distance between him and the meat. It stunk and the further away from him it was, the better. He continued with his work, looking for a likely place for the meat to have come from.

He saw the pizza delivery boy on the CCTV and made his way up to the tourist office.

He collected the pizzas and grimaced. He’d just ordered the usual and to be honest, meat feast probably wasn’t the best idea.

Back in the Hub he took put them on his desk and walked over to the entrance of the Autopsy room.

“Pizza’s here.”

“What’d you get me?” Owen asked

“Meat feast.”

It was worth it just for the look on Owen’s face.

*~*~*~*

“I’ve narrowed it down to three potential areas,” Ianto began, “only one warehouse is unoccupied. It's just outside Merthyr.”

“Makes sense, who knows what goes on there?” Owen mused.

“We've got to shut the operation down, neutralize whoever is doing this, and  
identify the alien meat.” Jack was using his Captain voice and Ianto couldn’t help but smile, thinking of the night before. Ianto had been in command then.

Gwen’s phone beeped.

“Tosh, you can coordinate.” Jack continued.

“I have to slip home and check on Rhys first,” Gwen said.

“Good idea. Find out how much he knows.”

Ianto could kick Jack sometimes.

“That’s not what I meant,” Gwen said stiffly, leaving the Hub.

Ianto looked at Jack in despair.

“What?” Jack asked innocently.

Ianto shook his head.

“Sometimes, Jack, you can be a right arsehole.”

*~*~*~*

Ianto sat at his computer, looking at the area around the warehouse near Merthyr trying to sort everything out. He felt a hand on his back and turned to find himself looking into Jack’s slightly worried face.

“Are you angry with me?”

Ianto’s heart melted just a little at the puppy dog eyes.

“No,” he shook his head and pulled Jack round and into his lap. “just wish you could be slightly more…tactful sometimes.”

“Sorry.”

Ianto chuckled and continued his work, Jack still on his lap, arms encircled around his neck.

*~*~*~*

Leaving Jack to wait for Gwen, Ianto and Owen made their way to the warehouse. When they got there, they walked round it stealthily, looking for a way in whilst they waited for Jack and Gwen.

After a while Jack’s voice came over the comms.

“Ianto, Owen, we're just on our way in. How are things looking at the slaughterhouse? Are you in position?”

“Yeah, it's all quiet here. There's a deserted access road to the side, where you won't get noticed. I'll direct you in.”

Ianto shook his head slightly.

“You ok?” Owen asked, a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah, yeah…just got this noise in my ears.”

“What does it sound like?”

“I dunno. It’s too faint.” He looked around but couldn’t see any source for the pained sounds he could hear.

“Ianto, nearly there.” Jack’s voice over the comm made Ianto jump just a little.

“Take the second turning. Park on the left. No one will see the car there,” he replied.

Owen was still looking at him funny, but he ignored him. Time to get on with the job. They came to another door and Owen checked it. Locked, just like the others they had found.

“There’s a main entrance at the front. It’s the only one open. The rest are padlocked and alarmed.” Ianto continued into his comms, progressing around the warehouse. That keening noise was still ringing in his ears but he couldn’t for the life of him tell where it was coming from.

“How many are in there?” Jack asked.

“Hard to tell, there’s no windows,” Owen replied.

“I've got blueprints of the warehouse. The stock has to be in the central  
area. Having fun?” Tosh’s voice came over the comm sounding far too jovial for Ianto’s liking.

“Don’t know what you’re missing,” he replied drolly.

“According to the sensor, there's a heat signature across the entire building,” Owen said, a frown appearing on his face, creasing his brow.

“Lovely,” Ianto muttered, knowing it was going to stink.

“You two take the sides. Gwen and I will go in the front. We don't want any casualties. We stun-gun whoever's in there and put a stop to what they're doing,” Jack commanded.

Ianto and Owen made their way back to the last door they had passed.

“Did you bring the alarm deactivator?” Owen asked, looking around to check the coast was clear.

There was loud snap and Owen spun round to find Ianto stood with the twisted padlock in his hand.

“Well, that’s one way of doing it,” Owen cocked and eyebrow at Ianto who simply smiled and pulled the chain off.

“Ready?” Ianto asked, reaching to pull his gun out of the back waistband of his jeans.

Owen nodded and pulled out his own.

“One…two…three,” Owen yanked open the door and they entered the doorway, guns raised. Ianto had been right, to him the stench was noticeable as soon as the door opened. But it was bearable. Just.

“Ianto, Owen. Stand down. Repeat: stand down.”

Ianto shot Owen a look. Owen nodded and the two men stepped back, pushing the door to behind them.

“What do you reckon made Jack withdraw?” Owen mused.

“Dunno,” Ianto said with a shake of his head.

They made their way cautiously round the front until they came across Jack pinning Gwen to the warehouse wall.

“Are we interrupting something?” Ianto said lightly, but there was an undercurrent of jealousy and anger that Jack picked up instantly.

“No, nothing.” Jack pulled away from Gwen and went and stood by Ianto, slipping his hand gently into his lover’s and stroking his thumb over the back of his hand reassuringly. “We’ve just seen Rhys.”

Owen’s eyebrows shot up.

“What, here?”

“Of course here,” Gwen snapped.

“Alright, alright,” Owen muttered, earning him a disapproving look from Jack.  
Ianto extracted his hand from Jack’s and went over to Gwen. He gripped her shoulder but she turned away. He reached out a placed a hand on her chin, tilting her face up so that their eyes met. Gwen let a tear trickle down her cheek and then let Ianto pull her into a tight hug.

They watched as Rhys emerged from the warehouse, shook a man’s hand and waved as he got into his car. It was all so friendly.

*~*~*~*

They drove back to the Hub so that Gwen could pick up her car. As soon as they pulled up, she was out of the SUV, barely letting it stop. Ianto climbed out and made after her.

“Gwen!” he called making her turn around. “You want me to come with you?”

“No,” she sighed, shaking her head, “this is something I’ve got to do alone.”

“You know where I am,” Ianto called after her retreating form.

Gwen threw a small smile over her shoulder at him.

The three men stood and watched Gwen drive away. This was all getting so complicated.

*~*~*~*

“Well, this is unprecedented, a fiancé finding out,” Ianto muttered into his drink.

“Mainly because we’re all sad and single,” Tosh said with a smile. Ianto raised an eyebrow and she blushed a little, “well apart from you and Jack, obviously.”

Ianto simply shook his head with a smile.

“You two are back on track then?” Owen asked.

“Looks that way,” Ianto looked up and caught Jack’s eye. He smiled as the older man gave him a wink, before turning back to the others. “So it looks like it’s just you two that are sad and single.”

“Yep, just me and you Owen.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m better off without that kind of hassle.”

Ianto watched Tosh’s face fall at Owen’s words, before she forced the smile back.

“Maybe the answer is to go out with someone who knows what you do.”

“Look around you Tosh. Only we know what we do.”

Owen pushed his chair back and turned towards the computers.

Tosh took a sip of her drink.

Ianto was thoroughly exasperated. He walked up behind Owen and smacked him sharply on the back of the head.

“Ow! What the fuck was that for?” Owen spun round to face Ianto.

“You know what! You can be such an prick sometimes. Why is that all the men that work here are emotionally retarded?”

“Did you just call yourself emotionally retarded?”

“I’m talking about you and Jack. First Jack earlier with Gwen and now you!”

“What are you going on about?”

“Open your eyes, Owen.”

Owen turned to look at Tosh, sat quietly on the sofa sipping her wine, her attention seemingly focused on the middle distance.

*~*~*~*

The lift lowered and they looked up. Rhys’ laugh echoed around the room and Ianto glanced at Jack, who didn’t look happy at the impromptu visit. He schooled his features into something slightly less hostile and walked along the walkway.

Myfanway screeched as she flew across the Hub and Rhys’ laugh flittered down, joined by Gwen’s happy chuckles.

“That looked so real.”

“It was real.”

“They’re extinct Gwen.”

The lift reached the bottom and Jack was already there.

“In your timeline yes,” Jack held out his hand to Rhys, who shook it warily. “Captain Jack Harkness. Thanks for dropping in Rhys.

Gwen hopped off the slab near Ianto.

“This is the rest of the team, Owen and Toshiko, Ianto.”

Owen nodded, Tosh smiled and Ianto simply looked at Rhys. Not a hostile look, more a calculating one. He offered the man one of his small smiles, a fake one really. It wasn’t a matter of trust, it was just Ianto had an idea where this was going.

“Nice to meet you,” Rhys said.

“Welcome to our headquarters.”

“They’re bigger than mine,” Rhys said, his voice coated in fake cheer. Gwen laughed nervously and looked at the others.

Jack smiled. The others did not.

“So Gwen tells me you catch aliens.”

“That’s right.”

God this was awkward.

“There's a rift through space and time that runs through Cardiff, Rhys, and stuff  
slips through it from other timelines and planets and it's our job to monitor it.” Owen said abruptly.

Rhys stepped off the slab next to Gwen.

“You sure they're not some weird kind of cult?” he muttered.

“You saw that alien in the warehouse. Go on,” Gwen said giving him a nudge.

“What did you see?” Jack asked.

“Uh, it was like this huge, shapeless beast filling the space, like a mound of  
flesh.”

“So it’s one massive entity?”

Gwen nodded.

“But how did it get there? That warehouse must be at least fifty meters long.”

“Maybe it was smaller when they found it because they said it was growing.”

Ianto felt sick.

“It’s not dead?”

“No, it’s breathing. It’s eye opened.”

“Oh my God,” Ianto breathed. Owen looked over at him, the cogs visibly working in his brain.

“So the protein chains are regenerating despite the mutilation, so not only is  
it replenishing its own flesh, but it's increasing it, giving them a brand-new meat  
supply,” Owen had his doctor voice on but his eyes, his eyes showed his compassion and they kept flitting over to where Ianto stood, comprehension dawning slowly.

“It would last them for years, then,” Gwen said, her eyes wide.

“If we understood how it worked, we could feed the world,” Tosh’s voice was filled with awe.

We could release a single, the thought ran unchecked across Ianto’s mind but he didn’t speak it. He was too preoccupied with the awful sounds echoing in his mind, finally understanding what he had heard.

“We're talking about dodgy pies and Merthyr, okay? And the fact that they're cutting it up alive” Jack turned to Rhys and jabbed a finger in his direction. “Which we could've put a stop to already, if it wasn't for you.”

“I thought my fiancée was in danger.”

“Well, Mr. Caveman, she wasn't. She can handle herself”

“Jack,” Gwen warned.

“All you did tonight was mess things up. Now, we have to think of a way to get  
back in. And thanks to you, they'll have tightened security!”

“Well, if you stopped and asked me exactly what I saw in there, instead of  
showing off round the place…”

“Do I show off?” Jack asked Ianto.

“Just a bit.”

“You'd know that I got out by telling them I wanted a job as a delivery boy. So rather than cock things up, I found you a way to get in! But if you can't handle that, big boy, then you can stuff it!” Rhys was right in Jack’s face and Ianto had the primal urge to protect. He took a step forward.

There was a moment where Jack and Rhys simply stood, noses almost touching, staring at each other. Rhys looked like he was ready to have a full on fist fight, his face drawn in anger and fists clenched tightly at his side. Jack was simply staring at him and then with a quick intake of breath he turned to Gwen.

“This is quite homoerotic.”

Rhys blinked, taken aback by his words and Ianto allowed himself a small smile.

“No, no, no he is not going in,” Gwen shouted.

“Team meeting. You too.”

Ianto sighed wearily.


End file.
